1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to packaging, and especially to a package for paper products. More particularly, the invention relates to a shipping and storage carton for cut sheets of paper, wherein the carton has a size and weight to promote easy handling and storage and has an easy-opening feature including a fold-down side to facilitate access to the paper. The carton may be reclosed after opening to keep unused paper fresh and neatly stacked, and has a built-in handle for ease and convenience in carrying the carton.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Cut-sized paper, such as conventional photocopy paper, typically is wrapped in reams each containing, for example, 500 sheets. It is common for a plurality of reams to be bundled together and packaged in a corrugated container for shipping, storage and handling. For example, it is common to package from five to ten reams of paper in a single container, with a lid secured over the container to keep the reams from falling out of the container during shipping and handling. Since a single ream of paper weighs about five pounds, packages containing from five to ten reams of paper are heavy and difficult to handle. Moreover, they are relatively large and require substantial storage space. Further, the reams of paper are closely surrounded by the container walls, and the lack of space between the reams of paper and the container walls makes it difficult to remove the reams of paper for use. Additionally, each ream must be individually opened to gain access to the paper, and the ream wrap disposed of.
Single wrapped reams of paper also are commonly sold, and although these packages are easy to handle and store, they do not protect the paper from physical damage. Further, most equipment used in the home or in small offices does not hold a full ream of paper. Consequently, after a ream is opened and the desired amount of paper removed, the remaining unused paper is unprotected.
Many home and small office users prefer to purchase several reams of paper at once, rather than to buy single reams more frequently, but prefer not to buy as many as ten reams at once. Packages have been developed that hold five reams of paper, but even these packages are heavy, and, as such, are more suitable for industrial and commercial purchasers, which typically will have material handling equipment such as power lifts and hand carts to handle such heavy items. Average home users who wish to purchase several reams of paper at once typically do not have access to such material handling equipment.
Unwrapped cut sheets of paper are sometimes packaged loose in cartons designed to closely fit the paper and protect it from damage. Unwrapped cut sheets of paper do not require removal and discarding of ream wrap, but conventional cartons of this type generally are also sized to hold from five to ten reams of paper and thus are relatively difficult to handle and store. Moreover, these cartons generally have either a removable lid or foldable flaps to close the top of the carton, and the lid is removed or the flaps opened to form an open top through which product is removed from the carton. With such packaging it is difficult to remove the contents without damaging the carton or inverting it to pour the contents out because of the lack of space to insert the hands of the user between the side walls of the carton and the paper stored therein.
Additionally, and particularly for the larger containers that are commonly used for shipping and storing cut sheets of paper, it is common for the stacks of paper to stand taller than the container base sidewalls, whereby the lid actually rests upon the top of the stacks rather than on the upper ends of the container sidewalls. Because it is common for several containers to be stacked on top of one another during shipping, reams of paper packed in the stacked containers typically compress as air that was trapped between the individual sheets within the reams during the wrapping process is “squeezed” out. As a result, it is not uncommon for the containers to be compressed as the stacks of reamed paper compress. That is, as the individual reams compress, it is not uncommon for the containers to become “less tall” by virtue of the fact that the container lid (which rests upon the top of the paper stacks) moves closer towards the container base. For this reason, paper suppliers prefer not to secure the lids directly to the container bases using an adhesive because the shear strength of typical hot melt adhesives cannot withstand the shear strain resulting from movement of the lid relative to the container base. In such situations, the lids become disassociated from the container bases, thereby permitting the reams of paper to spill out of the container. Free lids also become entangled in automated material handling equipment, thereby causing machine shut downs and shipping inefficiencies. Thus, it has become common to utilize ancillary securing devices, such as straps and the like, rather than or in addition to adhesive, to hold such container lids onto their respective bases. However, such devices do not always prevent the lids from becoming disassociated from the bases. For example, as the containers are compressed (for the reasons described above), the straps are loosened and are free to slip either partially or entirely off of the container, allowing the lids to become disassociated from the bases, resulting in product spillage and/or damage. In addition to the free lids (which may become entangled in material handling equipment), the free straps may likewise become entangled in the material handling equipment, resulting in machine shut downs and shipping inefficiencies. Operator safety is also reduced, as the free straps and free lids clutter the workspace.
It is desirable therefore to provide a carton for shipping and storing sheets of paper, such as photocopy paper or the like, which not only is smaller and lighter in weight than conventional multi-ream containers and accordingly is easier to handle and store, but which also protects the paper against physical damage from the environment.
It is also desirable to provide a carton that enables the sheets of paper to be easily and quickly unloaded from the carton, wherein the carton is adapted to remain sealed during shipping, handling and storing operations without the need to utilize ancillary securing devices such as straps and the like, and wherein the carton may be reclosed after opening.
In addition, it is desirable to provide an apparatus, such as a carry handle or the like, associated with the carton to facilitate handling thereof. A combination of a smaller multi-ream container together with a carry handle, for example, is ideally suited for retail sales to home users.